The Key to Domination: A War Doctor Tale
by JJ Rust
Summary: In his 4th incarnation, the Doctor was tasked to recover the Key to Time and restore balance to the universe. As the Time War rages, the War Doctor and his companions discover the Daleks have traveled through time to steal one of the pieces to the Key. Now he must return to Tara to stop his greatest enemies from acquiring one of the most powerful artifacts in the universe.
1. Chapter 1

Leela tensed as the forcefield in front of her flickered. A barrage of blue beams pounded the undulating yellow barrier. How much longer would it hold?

"Shield integrity down to forty percent," said a short, lean woman with brown skin and black hair.

"Hey, Doctor," blurted a burly, craggy-faced man. "How about hurrying up with whatever sciencey thing you're doing?"

"What I'm doing cannot be hurried, Mister Tupper." Leela heard the Doctor's reply in her earpiece.

Her lips tightened. She summoned every ounce of faith she had in the Doctor. The man had never let her down in his prior incarnation, and had yet to do so in his latest one.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

The Daleks pushed past the burning wreckage of their dead comrades, lasers firing non-stop. Leela raised her shield. A green beam shot from its center. The forcefield opened and closed in a split second. The blast struck one of the Daleks. Its upper half vanished in a gusher of flames.

"Shield integrity at thirty percent." Iniya Narayan fired a bolt from her plasma pistol through the forcefield. The beam sliced through the domed top of another Dalek. As usual, the 23rd Century detective from the Mars Colony kept her face impassive, her voice calm. Leela wondered if the woman ever felt fear.

"Gotta reload." Daniel Tupper yanked the blue plastic drum magazine from his modified Thompson submachine gun. The World War II soldier inserted a new one. Proton beams streaked from its barrel and cut through two Daleks.

Dozens more rolled into the corridor, firing, screeching, "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

"Shield integrity at twenty percent."

"Damn, woman," Tupper growled. "How's about keeping the bad news to yourself?" He blazed away with his Thompson. Smoke and flame poured from three Daleks. Leela blasted three more with her laser shield.

The rest did not stop. They pushed burning Daleks out of the way, or blasted them to ash. The pepper pot-shaped war machines crowded the corridor.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Dalek lasers pounded the forcefield like a deadly blue rain.

"Shield integrity at ten percent," stated Iniya.

"Do something, Doctor, or we're screwed!" yelled Tupper, proton beams from his Thompson flying through a firing port in the forcefield.

The Doctor didn't respond.

Leela fired blast after blast at the Daleks. _If I die, at least I die a warrior's death._

That did not bring her much comfort when she thought of Andred and their two children back on Gallifrey, a Gallifrey hundreds of years in the past.

 _I will see them again. The Doctor will not –_

"Shield failing," said Iniya.

The forcefield flickered. Leela glanced at her shield, a copy of the ones used by the Minyans during their adventure on P7E. Thanks to the Doctor's modifications, it could withstand two Dalek blasts, maybe three.

After that . . .

She held her breath, bracing herself for the onslaught of Dalek beams. She closed her eyes.

 _Goodbye Andred, Taras, Epela. I love y—_

A bright swirl of aqua and magenta caught Leela's eye. The colors spun beneath the Daleks, growing by the second. The metal monsters fell into the . . . energy whirlpool, many screaming.

The colorful vortex collapsed on itself. The Daleks were gone.

Leela let out a long breath and lowered her shield.

"Damn." Tupper wiped his brow. "Why does the Doctor always cut it close like that?"

She turned to the American soldier. "You will get used to it."

"The result is the same," said Iniya. "We are alive, whether the Doctor did this five seconds or five minutes before the forcefield failed."

Tupper scoffed, "Yeah, well you're not the one who has to change their drawers."

Iniya raised an eyebrow. She looked at Tupper's trousers, then sniffed the air. "No you do not."

Leela shook her head. Iniya had not been blessed with a sense of humor.

"Everyone all right?"

Leela whirled around. The Doctor walked toward them. Even after all the missions they'd been on, she still had trouble accepting how much he had changed in the ten years since she left the TARDIS.

Ten years for her. To the Doctor, hundreds of years had passed.

The mop of curly black hair, the brownish-red overcoat, the worn brimmed hat, the colorful scarf, the smile, the kind eyes. All gone. This Doctor had a weathered, wrinkled face with gray hair and a gray beard. His clothing, shirt, trousers, waistcoat, boots, were all brown. Not a trace of any bright colors. He also didn't smile. His eyes were no longer kind. She had the sense this "War Doctor" had been weighed down by the burden of the Time War.

"You think you can do that . . ." Tupper pointed to where the Daleks had been. "Whirlpool thing before our forcefield generator goes kaput?"

The Doctor exhaled a frustrated breath. "Mister Tupper, a temporal eddy is a weapon to be used in open space, over an area hundreds of miles wide. Have you any idea how complicated it is to open one in a confined space like this without destabilizing the entire planet?"

Tupper worked his stubbly jaw to the left, then the right. "Nope. I don't, and if you try and explain it to me, I probably still won't understand it."

"You are correct there." The Doctor took a step forward, then stopped, gaze still on Tupper. "By the way, you're welcome."

Tupper groaned and looked to the floor.

The Doctor led them down the corridor. Leela constantly glanced around for any stray Daleks. She saw none as they strode into the control room of this temporal transit base. The Doctor looked over the console, then touched a few of the ball-shaped controls. Streams of data flowed across the screen. He took out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the screen. The device buzzed, sucking in every bit of information from the Dalek computers.

Leela watched in amazement. The sonic screwdriver her Doctor had couldn't do half the things that the War Doctor's could. She was glad for it. This new and improved sonic screwdrvier had saved all their lives more times than she could count.

She turned to Iniya. The Indian woman's eyes flickered as she stared at the screen.

"You can read that?"

"You know I can." Iniya's gaze never wavered from the screen.

Yes, Leela knew about Iniya's mind-boggling reading skills. She knew of no one who could read so fast, not even the Doctor. Her Doctor or the War Doctor. Still, it astounded her.

"Stop," Iniya blurted.

"What is it?" The Doctor looked over his shoulder.

"Go back." She moved closer to the screen.

The Doctor did as told.

"There. Stop. Highlight the twelfth line."

The Doctor flicked his sonic screwdriver. The line turned red.

"I take it that's something important?"

Iniya spoke as though Tupper hadn't asked the question. "The Daleks have a time operation underway. A planet called Tara."

The Doctor turned fully around. "Did you say Tara?"

"Yes. Tara, Galactic Time Period Six Eight One Two One Nine Seven N Five Hundred."

The Doctor's mouth slowly opened. His face grew pale.

"Doctor?" Leela approached him, head tilted, face scrunched in concern. "Are you all right?"

"No," he replied in a hoarse whisper. "No. No, no, no, no, no."

"Doctor." Leela reached out for him. "What is it?"

"We need to get to the TARDIS. Now." He sprinted out of the control room, faster than she thought possible for that old body.

Iniya ran past her and Tupper. She halted and turned to them. "You heard the Doctor. Back to the TARDIS."

She continued without waiting for them.

Leela looked at Tupper. The soldier shrugged. The pair hurried out the control room and down the corridor. Leela wondered if the Doctor had retrieved all the data from the Dalek computers. That was the objective for this mission. What would make the Doctor leave before the task was finished? And why would he react the way he did when Iniya mentioned Tara?

Tupper raced through the TARDIS doors, Leela just a few steps behind. The Doctor was already punching buttons and twisting dials on the console.

"Doctor, what's going on?" asked Leela.

"We're going to Tara."

"Why?"

"Why?" The Doctor's head snapped up. "Because the Daleks are going there. They're probably there already. Oh, pray we're not too late."

"Too late for what?" asked Iniya. "Why is Tara so important?"

A protracted groan filled the control room as the TARDIS dematerialized and sped through the time vortex. The Doctor stepped away from the console, eyeing his companions.

"Not long after you stayed behind on Gallifrey, Leela, I journeyed to Tara with my new companion Romana, another Time Lord. A being called the White Guardian had tasked us with finding the pieces to an artifact called the Key to Time."

"So what does it do?" asked Tupper.

"It maintains the balance of the universe. The White Guardian feared that balance was coming undone, and needed the Key to set it right. We landed on Tara to recover the fourth piece."

"Do you think the Daleks want to steal the Key to Time?" asked Leela.

"It appears so."

"Then why not travel to the point where you and Romana had collected all the pieces?" Iniya walked around the console. "Which I assume you did."

"We did, and the Guardian restored the balance. But at that point, we had five of the six pieces in the TARDIS, which the Daleks would find near impossible to break into. Tara, though, Romana located the piece easily enough, but she was captured by a royal by the name of Count Grendel. The Key was locked away in his castle, which is a place the Daleks will have no problem breaking into."

"I take it if the Daleks snatch this Key to Time," said Tupper, "it would be very bad."

"Bad, Mister Tupper?" the Doctor blurted. "Bad does not begin to cover it. Even with one piece of the Key to Time, they have the technology to manipulate it into a weapon of unimaginable power. And if they manage to reassemble the entire Key to Time, they would become masters of all creation."

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** _I hope you enjoyed this first chapter of my new fanfic. Feel free to check out some of my original novels published under John J. Rust; my sea monster thriller "Sea Raptor," my invasion of America novel "Fallen Eagle: Alaska Front," and my alien invasion novel "Dark Wings," all available on Amazon._


	2. Chapter 2

"Here we are," announced the Doctor. "Castle Gracht."

Leela stared at the monitor, which showed a cave.

"Doesn't look like much of a castle," commented Tupper.

"That's because we are under it." The Doctor tapped several buttons on the console. "We used these tunnels to sneak Prince Reynart – or rather, his android version - into the throne room for his coronation, which should be going on right now."

"That means there will likely be many people in the castle," Iniya pointed out. "Shouldn't we arrive at a time when there is less activity?"

"On the contrary, Detective. Most of the people in Castle Gracht will be at the coronation. So this is the perfect time to slip in and get the piece to the Key to Time."

"Unless the Daleks are already here," said Leela.

The Doctor didn't answer her. Instead, he gazed at some of the screens on the TARDIS console. "No sign of any Daleks or tachyon particles in the vicinity of the castle. It looks like we beat them here."

The doors swung open. Leela hefted her shield and took point.

"Keep A lookout for any of Count Grendel's guards," the Doctor warned as he headed for the doors.

Tupper gripped his submachine gun tighter. "What do they look like?"

"Gray uniforms with red trim and silver, beaked helmets."

"What about their weaponry?" asked Leela.

"Crossbows that fire electric bolts and rapiers that emit an electric discharge."

Leela glanced at her shield. It should be able to fend off attacks from such weapons.

"Doesn't sound like these dummies should be any problem." Tupper grinned

"If at all possible, I'd like to avoid a confrontation with the Count's guards. We need to limit our impact on the timeline as much as possible."

Leela flicked on the flashlight protruding next to the laser's barrel. She swept the beam left, then right. "Clear."

The four proceeded through the tunnel. Leela stayed alert, playing the flashlight over some of the more shadowy parts of the cave. She also tried to listen over the footfalls of her companions for any sounds that might indicate a threat. She heard none.

"I take it you have a plan to get the piece, Doctor?" she asked, all her focus still ahead of her.

"The piece is in the workshop of Madame Lamia, the Count's surgeon and engineer. Second floor of the castle. We retrieve it, then take it back to the TARDIS . . . my other self's TARDIS." The Doctor looked down in thought for a moment. "Of course, we'd have to find some way to let my other self know the piece is on board his TARDIS, otherwise he and Romana could spend ages going through this castle looking for it." He snapped his fingers. "Of course. K9. He should be out and about now. We can give him the message."

Leela grinned, glad to hear the Doctor – _her Doctor –_ had built another K9 to keep him company after she left.

Her eyes drifted to the craggy, uneven roof of the tunnel. She imagined the castle above her. Somewhere up there was her Doctor. She wished she could see him again, let him know she was doing well, that she had a wonderful family, even served alongside Andred in the Chancellery Guard. And, of course, she wanted to know he was fine.

Unfortunately, she could not do that. The Doctor wanted as little interaction with the people on Tara as possible.

They made their way out of the tunnels and up to the second floor. They had to hide in an alcove as two of Count Grendel's guards passed by. Once the pair was out of sight, the Doctor led them to a wooden door. Leela, Tupper, and Iniya scanned the corridor as he ran the sonic screwdriver over the door. He then stared at the device.

"We're in luck. Madame Lamia is the only one in there." He looked around at the others. "Set your weapons to stun. It should be no problem to storm in, take the piece, then depart."

Leela nodded, flicking the switch on her laser shield to the stun setting.

"Ready?" asked the Doctor.

After the others nodded, he aimed the sonic screwdriver at the doorknob. It clicked and the door swung open. Before them was a room with electronic equipment and tables with androids in various states of assembly. Leela winced, having a flashback to the sand planet where she and her Doctor had to save the crew of a mining ship from killer robots. Or as she called them, "Creepy mechanical men," who were immune to her knife.

A thin woman with done up black hair and a flowing white dress spun to face them. Madame Lamia, she figured. Her eyes bulged. She opened her mouth. "Gu -"

"I'd shut that trap if I were you, dollface." Tupper jabbed his Thompson at her. "Unless you wanna get pumped full'a lead . . . I mean, plasma."

Lamia's mouth hung open, but she didn't utter a word.

The Doctor stepped toward her. "We're here for the stone. Where is it?"

"What . . . what stone?" Lamia's voice trembled.

"You know what we're talking about." Leela thrust the laser shield forward. "Now tell us where it is. We shall not ask again."

Lamia drew a staggered breath, her eyes unblinking. She certainly appeared in fear for her life. Not that they had any intention of killing her.

Lamia, of course, did not know that.

The Taran engineer said nothing. Leela nearly threatened her again when the other woman's eyes flickered toward the table.

The Doctor followed her gaze. He gave a slight grunt and stepped over to the table. He moved aside a few pieces of equipment, then snatched up an angular block of clear stone.

 _So that's the Key to Time._ Leela tilted her head. It looked rather beautiful, more beautiful than any precious gemstone she had ever seen. She found it hard to believe something that looked like an expensive decoration had the power to change the course of the universe.

She fought off a shudder when she imagined the kind of changes the Daleks wanted to make.

"Well I'll be damned." Tupper beamed. "Everything went according to plan. How often does that happen?"

"Eighteen percent of the time," Iniya responded. "Granted, that figure is based solely on the Doctor's missions since he recruited me."

"Iniya. Secure her." The Doctor nodded to Lamia. "By the time Count Grendel or his guards find her, we'll be far from this castle."

"Yes, Doctor." She reached into her equipment belt for her handcuffs.

Leela's gaze shifted from Lamia to the Doctor. She suppressed a frown. Her Doctor would have had some funny response to the 23rd Century detective's comment. This Doctor, however . . . he seemed to possess no humor. Everything about him seemed grim. Yes, she knew what was at stake in this Time War. All of creation.

Still, even in the darkest of time, her Doctor kept his sense of humor. His jokes reassured her that all was not lost, that while there was life, there was hope.

She wondered if this War Doctor would ever make any sort of joke.

She wondered when should would stop comparing the two Doctors and just accept this one for who he was.

"Please put your hands on top of your head." Iniya approached Lamia. "Do not make any sudden movements. Fully cooperate and you will not be -"

The door opened.

Leela swung around. Two of Grendel's guards marched in, grasping the arms of a slender red-headed woman with a smooth, regal face. She wore a purple outfit that seemed half-dress, half-waistcoat, topped off by a purple hat.

The guards jerked in surprise.

"What? Who -"

A stun beam streaked from Leela's laser shield. It struck the guard in the chest. He stumbled backwards and collapsed.

Tupper stunned the second guard.

"Dammit!" The Doctor blurted.

Another thing Leela couldn't get used to. Her Doctor never used foul language.

"Who are you?" The redhead demanded. "What are you doing with the . . . my stone."

"It's not a stone, Romana," said the Doctor. "It's a segment of the Key to Time."

 _So that's Romana._ She did have a rather haughty air about her that quite a few Time Lords back on Gallifrey had. Leela wondered how well she could handle herself in times of danger.

Romana gawked at the Doctor. "How do you know who I am? How do you know about the Key -"

"Because I'm the Doctor," he cut her off. "A future incarnation of the one in this timeline. And right now we don't have time for any more explanations. We need to get this piece back to the TARDIS before more of Count Grendel's guards arrive. Or worse, the Daleks."

"Daleks?" The surprise drained from Romana's face. It stiffened into a mask of seriousness mixed with fear. "The Daleks are after the Key to Time?"

"Yes. Now we need to move. Iniya." The Doctor turned to her. "Bring Madame Lamia with us. She might make a useful hostage."

"A hostage?" Iniya's tone was flat as ever. Her eyes, however, betrayed her loathing at the idea.

"I don't have time for your moral outrage as a police officer," the Doctor snapped. "If we run into more of Grenel's guards, I'd prefer to threaten our way out than blast our way out. Grendel has a fondness for this woman. His guards won't let any harm come to her. Now bring her."

Iniya's eyes narrowed. "Yes, Doctor," she muttered.

Leela watched the detective grasp Lamia arm and urge her forward. She understood the Doctor's logic in taking Lamia hostage, but wondered if that was something her Doctor would have done.

The Doctor leaned out the doorway, looked left, then right. "All clear. Move."

The group hurried into the hallway and down the corridor.

"Are you really the Doctor?" Romana looked at him.

"Fred."

Leela's face scrunched. What sort of answer was that?

Romana slowed. "Fred? That was one of the choices you had for what to call me."

"Yes, because by the time I shouted, 'Romanadvoratrelundar,' you might be dead. Now, are you convinced I am the Doctor?"

Lips tightened, Romana held him in her gaze for a few moments. "I imagine you are. But what are you doing here. Don't you know the sort of affect you could have on the timeline?"

"We already got that talkin' to, ma'am," said Tupper. "Not that it did us much good."

The Doctor glared at the American, then turned back to Romana. "If those guards had waited another minute or two before they brought you in, this wouldn't be a problem. Now, however, we -"

Four guards rounded the corner, halting when they saw them.

"Intruders!" one guard shouted. He raised his crossbow. So did the others.

"Stop!" The Doctor raised a hand and stepped to the side. He stabbed his hand at Lamia. "You see who we have with us. Madame Lamia. I doubt Count Grendel will be happy if anything happens to her. So if you want to make sure no harm comes to her, you'll let us leave unmolested."

The guards looked at one another, appearing unsure.

Leela opened her mouth to make another threat when she heard something, a muffled, electronic whistle. Many of them. It appeared to come from outside. Could it be those electronic crossbows?

"Any'a you hear that?" Tupper gazed at the ceiling, then the wall to his left.

Another sound filtered through the castle. A sharp, evil buzzing. Leela's chest tightened. Even as faint as it was, she recognized it.

"Oh no." Romana stared at the wall, mouth agape. Leela assumed she, too, recognized that sound.

A crash like a hundred drums rocked the castle. The walls down the hall exploded. The concussion knocked Leela and the others off her feet. Clouds of dust filled the corridor.

Coughing, she sat up, painful hammers battering her back and legs. She spat out the stale, grimy taste of dust from her mouth.

"Aw hell," uttered Tupper.

She followed the American's gaze and tensed.

Two Daleks rolled out of the ruins of Madame Lamia's workshop.

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


	3. Chapter 3

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

The Daleks swung toward the Doctor and the others. Gritting her teeth, Leela sprang to her feet, shield up.

The Daleks fired. Two blue beams slammed into the shield. A quake blasted through Leela's body. The air exploded from her lungs as she flew backwards. She crashed onto someone. The Doctor.

Tupper and Iniya brought up their weapons and fired. Energy beams tore through both Daleks. Flames burst from their mechanical bodies.

"Are you okay, Doctor?" Leela slid off him, grimacing. A vise crushed her left arm.

"I will be." He sucked down a breath and rubbed his lower back.

"Guards!" Lamia shouted. "Guards, help me!"

Leela turned to the Taran, eyes narrowed. She started to bring up her laser shield, and noticed it was bent in the middle. Smoke and sparks spewed from the barrel.

"Dammit!" She tore it off her throbbing arm.

"Don't move!"

She swung her head to the right. Four of Grendel's gray-clad rushed them, crossbows up.

Tupper sighed and looked at Iniya. "I guess this won't be the eighteen percent of the time everything goes according to plan." He dropped his modified Thompson submachine gun.

"You fools." The Doctor pushed himself up on all fours. "You have more serious problems than us."

"Shut up," said one of the guards.

"The Daleks are -"

"I said shut up." The guard thrust his crossbow at the Doctor for emphasis.

The old Time Lord shook his head. "Guards. All the same. All devotion to duty, no damn common sense."

"I've had enough of your tongue. Maybe I'll cut it out before -"

The guard glowed blue. He screamed and crumpled to the floor.

Four more Daleks appeared in the corridor. Lasers flashed over Leela and her friends. Blue auras formed around the three remaining guards. They cried out in agony and collapsed.

The Daleks started forward. The one in front stopped, its eyestalk aimed at the Doctor.

"It is the Doctor!" it grated. "Logic suggests he must have the segment to the Key to Time."

The Dalek slid forward. "Surrender the segment or you and your companions will be exterminated."

"And if I do give you the segment to the Key – that is, if I had it – you'd exterminate us anyway."

"Surrender the segment. Obey! You will obey the Daleks!"

"I'll die before I ever obey you." Leela glared at the Dalek, rubbing her throbbing arm.

"Then you will be the first of the Doctor's companions to be exterminated."

The gun slewed toward Leela.

"No." The Doctor reached for her.

"Bastard garbage cans." Tupper went for his gun.

"What are you?" someone hollered from down the corridor.

The Daleks spun around. Leela looked around the machines. A hawkish, dark-haired man with a goatee and maroon tunic stood in the corridor. Count Grendel of Gracht, she assumed.

"How dare you attack Castle Gracht? You shall pay a dear price for your transgression."

Grendel drew his rapier. "Have at thee!"

He charged the Daleks.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Two beams struck Grendel. He yelled, stumbled backwards, and fell.

"NO!" Madam Lamia shrieked.

"Run! Run!" shouted the Doctor.

Everyone dashed down the corridor. Leela scooped up a crossbow from one of the dead guards.

"C'mon, lady." Tupper yanked Lamia off the floor. "Move your ass."

"Exterminate!" The Daleks screeched. "Exterminate!"

Laser blasts flew down the corridor. Leela and the others turned at the intersection. Sparks and smoke burst from the brick walls as the beams hit.

"Where do we go now?" asked Romana.

"The TARDIS," answered the Doctor. "My TARDIS. We need . . . need . . ." He grimaced and stumbled.

"Doctor," Leela blurted. "Are you all right?"

"F-Fine." He stiffened his jaw and kept running.

Electric whistles came from around the corner. Two guards backed into the intersection, then four. All fired their electric crossbows.

"Exterminate!" The word echoed through the corridors. "Exterminate!"

Blue glows lit up two of the guards. They screamed and crumpled to the floor.

"This way." The Doctor pointed to an arched doorway. Leela and the others followed him through, charging down a flight of stone steps. They stopped when they reached the stairwell. Clutching her crossbow, Leela peeked into the corridor. Distant thumps and crackles sounded from the floors above.

"Clear," she reported.

"So what now?" asked Romana.

The Doctor's face scrunched. He rubbed his forehead before answering. "We . . . We need to get out of the castle and make for the TARDIS. Your TARDIS." he looked at Romana. "If we can get the Key segment inside, the Daleks won't be able to get it."

"The castle is surrounded by a moat," Romana pointed out. "And I imagine the Daleks have posted guards at the drawbridge."

"Then we swim across. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

Romana shrugged. "I suppose I don't have a choice."

"You do. You can stay here and let the Daleks kill you."

The lady Time Lord drew her head back, apparently stunned by the Doctor's retort. Even Leela found it unnecessarily harsh.

"Let's go." The Doctor strode into the corridor.

Leela was about to follow when she heard Iniya say, "Madam Lamia, come on."

The Taran engineer leaned against the wall, hands over her face, body shaking with sobs. "Count Grendel . . . oh, Count Grendel."

"Madam Lamia, please. You must come," Iniya urged.

Lamia cried louder.

"We do not have time for this." Leela stomped over to the Taran woman. She hooked her sore arm around Lamia's wrists, yanked them down, and slapped her.

"You have two choices. Come with us and live, or stay here and blubber until the Daleks find you and kill you. What will it be?"

Lamia gaped at her. She blinked a couple of times, then hurried into the corridor. Leela followed, with Romana gazing at her.

"Was that necessary?"

"It got her moving." Unlike the Doctor's words to Romana, what she had said to Lamia was _not_ unnecessarily harsh. Who was to say if they left her here, the Daleks wouldn't interrogate her about their whereabouts before exterminating her?

They dashed down the corridor, nearing an intersection.

"Locate the Doctor and his companions," a Dalek croaked from around the corner. "They must have the Key to Time segment. Exterminate them and secure the segment."

The group skidded to a halt. The Doctor waved them into a nearby room. He slammed the door shut and dropped down the wooden latch.

Leela scanned around her. There were tables, cupboards, refrigerators, ovens, sinks. They had taken refuge in a kitchen.

Tupper overturned a table and dropped behind it.

"That table will not withstand a Dalek laser blast," said Iniya.

"Better this than no cover at all."

The Indian woman sighed, then dropped next to Tupper, pistol out.

"There's a window." Romana ran toward it. "We can get out through here."

She stopped a couple of feet from it, then backed up. "On second thought, this isn't an option. There are six airborne Daleks outside."

"And likely more around the castle," said the Doctor. Jaw set, he scanned the kitchen. His gaze halted on the oven. He stepped toward it, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

Leela's brow furrowed. _What's wrong with him?_

He looked over the oven, opened it, and stuck his head inside. He withdrew and turned to Lamia. "This oven is solar-powered."

Lamia nodded.

"Good, good, good." The Doctor ducked back inside the oven. His sonic screwdriver buzzed. A minute later, he emerged with a circular object connected to colorful wires.

"What are you doing?" asked Leela.

"Remodifying the solar heater. If I can channel enough energy through it, I can turn this into a heat ray."

"A heat ray?" uttered Lamia. "But . . . but the solar heater couldn't possibly emit that much power. It will overload within seconds."

"Not if I can . . . can . . ." The Doctor swayed from side-to-side.

"Doctor?" Leela moved toward him. "Doctor, are you all right?"

The Doctor looked up at her . . . then toppled over.

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


	4. Chapter 4

"Doctor!" Both Leela and Romana blurted. They rushed over to him.

Leela looked over the Doctor, fear and concern overwhelming her. "Doctor?" She gently shook his shoulders. "Doctor. Wake up."

Romana felt around the Doctor's chest. "He's still breathing, and his hearts are still beating, albeit faster than normal."

"So what's wrong with him?"

"I don't know." Romana shook her head. Her jaw clenched as she stared at the unconscious Doctor.

Leela made a fist. Anger pushed aside her fear. Anger at herself, for her lack of medical knowledge. All her fighting skills couldn't tell her what was wrong with the Doctor. She also aimed some of that anger at Romana. She was a Time Lord, too. Why couldn't she figure out what was wrong with the Doctor?

A roar and crash rocked the kitchen. Madame Lamia screamed. Leela swung around. Clouds of dust and smoke swept out from the large opening in the wall. A Dalek floated outside.

"Attention all Daleks. Converge on the kitchen on the first floor of the castle. The Doctor and his companions are there. Retrieve the segment to the Key to Time and exterminate all humanoid lifeforms."

"Aw, kiss my ass, garbage can." Tupper let loose with his Thompson. Proton bolts burned through the Dalek. Flames and smoke spouted from its hull. It pitched backwards and fell out of sight.

"Gimmie a hand." Tupper slung his machine gun over his shoulder and grabbed the large, silver refrigerator. Leela and Iniya came over to help.

"We are encountering resistance," a Dalek screeched from outside. "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Leela bolted away from the refrigerator. A second Dalek floated toward the opening. She threw herself on the ground as a blue beam zipped overhead. Leela crawled under a nearby table, lifted her crossbow, and fired. Three electric bolts struck the Dalek's mid-section. All flashed harmlessly against its forcefield.

"Dammit." She bared her teeth. These Taran electric bolts did not have the sort of power her laser shield had.

"Exterminate!" the Dalek croaked. "Exterminate!"

Leela swept her gaze up and down the metal alien. She elevated the crossbow, aiming for the eyestalk. Another idea sprang to her mind. She lowered it, sighting the bottom of the Dalek. Leela pulled the trigger again and again. Bolts struck the Dalek's base, an area where its forcefield was weakest. Sparks and flame jumped out from the bottom. The Dalek wobbled.

"Disruption to gravitational field." the Dalek cried out.

Leela kept firing. Fire and smoke poured from the bottom.

"Gravitational field failure!" The Dalek dropped from sight. "Gravitational field fa-"

A splash sounded from outside as the Dalek hit the moat.

Leela let out a long breath of relief.

The relief vanished when she saw more Daleks soaring toward the opening.

She twisted around on her belly and crawled back to the others. The refrigerator lay on its side, Tupper and Iniya crouched behind it.

"Four more Daleks are approaching."

Blue beams flew through the opening and exploded against the far wall. Leela sprang to her feet and jumped over the refrigerator.

"Tupper. Leela." Iniya pointed above them. "Aim for the ceiling. "We can create additional cover."

All three raised their energy weapons and fired. Bangs and crashes echoed through the kitchen. Large stones fell through the smoke, dust, and flames circling the ceiling. Piles of rubble lay in front of them.

Leela glanced over her shoulder. Romana still tended to the Doctor. Madame Lamia curled up in the corner, weeping. Useless woman.

"Doctor, wake up," Romana pleaded. "The Daleks are coming."

"Exterminate!" Two Daleks floated through the opening. "Exterminate!"

Leela, Tupper, and Iniya all fired. Both Daleks blew apart.

"Doctor, wake -"

The Doctor sat up, eyes wide.

"Doctor." A bolt of joy and relief went through Leela. "Are you all right?"

"Fine. Fine."

The wall to the left exploded. Daleks rolled into the kitchen, crying, "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

More Daleks soared through the opening in the exterior wall.

"I estimate our cover will hold for forty seconds," said Iniya.

Tupper glanced at the Doctor. "So whatever you're doing better not take forty-five seconds." He let loose a stream of proton beams.

The Doctor scrambled back to the oven. He ran his sonic screwdriver over solar heater and the wires connected to it.

The Daleks blasted the rubble piles. Large stones disintegrated. Two blasts ripped through the steel refrigerator. Leela peeked over it and fired. A dozen electric bolts struck one Dalek's eyestalk. Sparks burst from it.

"My vision is impaired! I cannot see!"

Iniya destroyed two Daleks. She ducked as a blue ray streaked overhead. It blew out a hole in the wall, barely three feet from Madame Lamia. She screamed.

Another pile of rubble exploded. The top half of the refrigerator vanished in sparks and flame. Leela, Iniya, and Tupper dropped to their stomachs.

"Doctor," Iniya called out. "We're losing our cover."

"Give me a minute." He aimed his humming screwdriver at the solar heater.

"A minute?" Tupper exclaimed. "We don't even have a second."

The Doctor just worked away on the solar heater.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Leela held her breath, ready to fire one last flurry of electric bolts.

"Daleks!" The Doctor jumped to his feet, holding up the segment to the Key to Time.

Leela gasped. At least fifteen Daleks were in the kitchen, and the Doctor stood before them, exposed, an easy target, holding the one thing the aliens most wanted.

Her shock and worry eased when she noticed the solar heater in the Doctor's other hand, connected to the sonic screwdriver.

The Daleks halted, all their eyestalks locked on the Key to Time segment.

"I understand you want this." The Doctor waggled the clear stone in his hand.

The lead Dalek rolled forward a couple of feet. "Give us the segment. Give us the segment now."

"If I do, will you allow me and my companions to leave here unharmed?"

Several seconds of silence passed before the lead Dalek answered, "Yes."

The Doctor grunted. "I know what Dalek promises are worth."

He brought up the solar heater. A brilliant orange flash leapt from the disc. Leela shut her eyes and turned away. A sharp buzz filled her ears. Explosions followed. Then came a crackle, growing louder by the second.

The sharp buzz ended. Leela opened her eyes and looked over the charred, shredded refrigerator. The burning hulks of fourteen Daleks stretched across the kitchen.

To her left, the fifteenth and final Dalek was intact. Its gun swiveled toward her.

She fired. So did Tupper and Iniya. The Dalek erupted in flames.

Leela looked back at the Doctor. Sparks and smoke spewed from the solar heater. He looked over his shoulder at Madame Lamia. "You were right. It did overload in a few seconds." He tossed the useless, improvised weapon aside.

Lamia just trembled and sobbed.

"Let's go." The Doctor waved everyone toward the opening in the exterior wall. He checked outside, Romana standing next to him.

"No sign of any Daleks," she said.

"No, but I have no doubt there are others nearby." He looked at Romana. "I never asked this while we were traveling, but can you swim?"

"Of course."

"Good."

The Doctor gave her a push to the back. Romana yelped and fell into the moat below.

"The rest of you, go."

Tupper stepped over, holding up both hands. "I don't need a push. I can jump fine by myself."

The American soldier leaped out of the opening. Iniya was next, helping Madame Lamia. Then Leela jumped in, the Doctor following. They all swam to the edge of the moat, climbed out, and hurried to the nearby woods.

Leela peered through the gaps in the trees. Columns of smoke rose from the top of Castle Gracht. Her throat tightened, thinking of her Doctor.

 _He will be fine. He will find a way out._ She looked at the War Doctor. Obviously her Doctor would live if his future self was here.

"Doctor." Romana put a hand on his shoulder. "What happened to you back there? Why did you collapse?"

The Doctor rubbed his forehead. "My memories of our time on Tara. There are . . . holes. Some of it fuzzy." His face sagged as he stared at them. "My own timeline is in flux."

"I imagine it is," said Iniya. "You said the Daleks were not originally on Tara when you and Romana searched for the fourth piece of the Key to Time."

"It's not that." The Doctor shook his head. "I do know that when I was last on Tara, Count Grendel did not die. Now his death, and the presence of the Daleks, has altered this entire timeline. I have no idea matters on Tara will play out."

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


	5. Chapter 5

Leela kept looking over her shoulder as the group made their way through the woods. She thought of Castle Gracht far behind them, thought of her Doctor. A sharp quiver went through her stomach. Did the Daleks get him? Could he be . . .

She gritted her teeth, not wanting to think about it. Her gaze shifted to the War Doctor, who trudged past the trees and pushes. If he was here, then her Doctor was fine.

But time was in flux. Whatever had happened on Tara when her Doctor visited had been altered. Count Grendel was not supposed to have died, yet he did. Who could say the same wouldn't happen to the Doctor?

 _But if he had been killed on Tara, then this Doctor wouldn't be here. I might not even be on Tara. Or are we connected by some time . . . thing? Maybe those changes won't happen unless my Doctor dies in the here and now._

She snorted and scowled. Ten years she had lived on Gallifrey, and she still couldn't come close to grasping all the intricacies of time.

Leela decided to simplify it. So long as the War Doctor was around, that was good. If he faded out of existence, that would be very, _very_ bad.

She shoved a branch out of her way, following Romana. They stayed within the forest, giving them cover from any Daleks that might be on patrol. She checked on the others. The Doctor tramped along. The skin around his eyes sagged. His lips were pressed in a tight line. He looked morose, moreso than usual.

Tupper slid around the trees and brush, his eyes darting in all directions, scanning for threats, like any seasoned warrior.

Iniya and Lamia brought up the rear. The Taran struggled to keep up with the group. A sheen of sweat coated her narrow features. She grimaced and breathed heavily. Leela imagined the woman was not used to this sort of physical exertion.

Iniya appeared to cast a wary eye on many of the bushes and branches around her. If her sleeve caught on them, she jerked it away.

Leela shook her head. Aside from the Doctor, Iniya was the smartest person she'd ever met. But a life spent on the Mars colony made her uncomfortable around nature.

 _I wonder what she'd do on my homeworld._ The planet of the Sevateem tribe was more heavily forested than Tara.

Romana halted, moving her head left to right. "We should be about a mile from the TARDIS."

"Are you sure?" the Doctor growled.

Romana swung around, thin eyebrows knitted together, looking offended. "Yes, I'm sure."

"I hope so. The more we wander around these woods, the more we risk the Daleks getting this segment of the Key to Time." He patted the left side of his jacket, where he kept the stone.

"You don't need to remind me how important it is to keep it away from the Daleks," Romana replied in a curt tone. "I am the one traveling with you – or rather, your former self – while we look for these segments."

Head held high, Romana strode through the woods, quicker than before.

Leela stared at the Doctor, who didn't seem bothered by Romana's reaction. It hadn't been the first time he had been short with someone. Even her Doctor had a sharp tongue, though he only used it on fools or enemies. This Doctor, however, seemed quick to insult anyone who tried his patience in the slightest. She had raised the issue to him a couple of times in the past. His answer had been, "The whole of creation is threatened by the Daleks. You'll forgive me if I don't concern myself with pleasantries."

"I know regeneration can result in extreme changes to a Time Lord's personality, but this . . ." Romana glanced back at the Doctor, then looked to Leela.

She gave the redheaded Gallifreyan a half-smile. "I know. He is . . . much different from the Doctor I knew. It's still hard to accept him like this."

"Well, in some ways, it's hard to accept the present version of the Doctor. He actually went fishing while we were supposed to be looking for the fourth segment."

Leela softly chuckled. That was the Doctor she knew, and missed. "How is he doing? My Doctor? Our doctor?"

"Oh, he excels at trying my patience," said Romana. "Rushes into dangerous situations before thinking, rarely takes things seriously."

"In other words, exactly the same as when I traveled with him."

Romana grinned as she avoided a tree. "So how did you end up with the Doctor again?"

"He came to Gallifrey one day and told me about the Time War. He said he needed companions who were exceptional warriors, who could help him defeat the Daleks."

"Did you have a family when the Doctor returned?"

Leela nodded. "Two children. Taras, he's seven, and Epela, she's five."

"Even with two children to care for, you still decided to go with the Doctor?"

"What choice did I have? If the Daleks win the Time War, they're dead. Everyone's children are dead."

Her left arm grazed a protruding branch. A sharp blade of pain shot up and down her arm. She bared her teeth, trying to ignore it.

"Are you all right?" asked Romana.

"I'm fine." Leela's arm was definitely broken. Not that she could do much about it now. Getting to the TARDIS and keeping the segment safe was all that mattered.

Besides, she'd endured worse pain than this in her life.

Romana nodded, but gave her a doubtful look. "What about your other two companions?"

"We came across Tupper on Earth during their Second World War. His unit was fighting off Daleks who were searching for a crashed TARDIS in Europe. Iniya was a detective on the Mars colony in the 23rd Century when the Daleks attacked it. The Doctor thought they could help us in the Time War."

"It seems like that war has taken its toll on him." Romana glanced back at him.

Leela lowered her head. "This war, it's like nothing I ever thought possible. It stretches over centuries. Whole planets have been destroyed. The stakes are so high. It all weighs on him."

The ground sloped away to Leela's right. She paused, making sure of her footing. She spoke again when she and Romana moved away from the slope. "It also seems . . ."

"Seems like what?" asked Romana.

Leela chewed on her lip before continuing. "Even when I traveled with the Doctor, he was forced to take lives. That was also true long before I knew him. I imagine it was true long after I stopped traveling with him. At times, I feel like all that death, all those battles, all that guilt and loss. It's as if it gave birth to a living being . . . this Doctor."

Romana swung her head from the Doctor to Leela. "An interesting way of looking at it. I know our Doctor has his faults, but I can't imagine him -"

"Madame Lamia, watch it!" Iniya blurted.

A scream went up behind Leela. Lamia toppled over the slope and rolled toward the bottom. She came to a halt, lying still.

"Madame Lamia." Iniya looked over the edge. She moved forward, then stopped, her face tightening in hesitation.

 _She's probably afraid she'll fall, too._ Leela hurried over. "I'll get her."

"Oh for Rassilon's sake," the Doctor growled, the muttered. "We should have left her back at the castle."

Leela turned to him, her face scrunched in shock and disgust. She couldn't imagine her Doctor ever saying something like that.

"Don't look at me like that," said the Doctor. "We can't afford to waste time getting to the TARDIS."

"Then keep going." Leela waved them on. "I'll catch up with you."

The Doctor grunted. "Very well, but be quick about it."

Slinging the crossbow over her shoulder, Leela started down the slope, arms out, balancing herself as she moved on the uneven ground. Below her, Madame Lamia stirred. She slowly sat up, grimacing, then crying.

Leela grew weary of the crying.

"Are you all right?"

Lamia looked up at her, cheeks stained with tears. "I . . . I think so."

When Leela reached her, she gave her a quick examination. The Taran said she was sore in many places, but didn't seem to have any serious injuries.

"Come on. Let's go, and be careful."

She helped Lamia to her feet and up the slope. The Taran's jaw stiffened, then she said in a forced tone, "Thank you."

Leela nodded. The two women set off through the woods. Neither spoke. Leela peered through the trees. She saw the Doctor, Tupper, and Iniya crossing an open field. Just beyond them was the TARDIS.

Her shoulders loosened. The tension dissolved from her muscles. The segment would be safe from the Daleks.

She saw the Doctor reach into his pocket for the TARDIS key. Leela opened her mouth, ready to shout to him they were on their way.

A blinding white flash enveloped the trio and the TARDIS.

Leela threw up her right arm and turned away. Bright spots floated across her vision. Seconds passed before she blinked and looked back at the field. Fear clutched her chest.

The Doctor, Tupper, Iniya, and the TARDIS had all vanished.

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


End file.
